@PentonKirk: Also hearing the #Riders have released centre Dominic Picard.

Rob Vanstone ‏@robvanstone  18s18 seconds ago

Picard is apparently shopping around to gauge interest from other CFL teams. The Riders are open to him returning at a renegotiated wage.

 

 

 Rob Vanstone ‏@robvanstone  56s56 seconds ago

The Roughriders have released centre Dominic Picard, who was due to receive a bonus. The team has offered him a restructured deal.

Picard is mediocre at this point in his career, most of us are well aware of that.  Canadian OL who are better will not be available.  How many FA periods have we spent wishing for one?

 

I don't see anything wrong with starting Picard at centre and keeping Morley as the 6th OL.

 

But what the heck, we can always go with American pylons again.

We were all frustrated with Kahn and not having a Center that can block his last few years here.... That's exactly where Picard is at.

 

We complained about Morely because as a Gaurd he is mediocre. As a Center he is a better blocker then most in the CFL. 

Picard is mediocre at this point in his career, most of us are well aware of that.  Canadian OL who are better will not be available.  How many FA periods have we spent wishing for one?

 

I don't see anything wrong with starting Picard at centre and keeping Morley as the 6th OL.

 

But what the heck, we can always go with American pylons again.

 

No, there is nothing wrong with this.  More like it's approaching change for change's sake.  There are probably very few people strongly opposed to bringing Picard here (but since it's the internet, I'm sure there's a few who will claim he's the devil).

 

And considering we have Goossen who should be ready to get his feet wet at that position in the near future, if it's not an upgrade over the status quo (Morley), why bother?

 

And just from the pure nuts and bolts of it all, Picard isn't going to sign a one year deal with a team at this point in his career, while there is no way we will defer giving Goossen starts at center until 2017.  It's just not a good match right now unless the Bombers have seen enough from Goossen in practise that they don't think he'll be ready to play center for 2 more seasons (or ever).  I would not know if that's the case, but there has never been any indication of this.  And Picard is smart enough to look at our roster and realize his career prospects are worse here than several other teams.  We're like a less sexy version of Calgary (with Lavertu) at the center position.  There will be places where he can get more money and more snaps than here.

 

Recognizing the poor fit for both parties isn't the same as being opposed to the player.

To me the question is simple...  Is Picard an upgrade over Morley at center this year?  The answer in my mind is yes.  It doesn't matter if he'll be better for more than one year because Gossen is the heir apparent at center.  Sign him for 2 years and cut him in the second year if Gossen is ready.

 

Morley is a poor guard.  I'd rather see Gossen start there next year if he isn't ready for the center spot.  Morley is too expensive to be the 6th O lineman.  I'd rather use our 1st round pick.  Morley OR Picard?  I'll take Picard.

gary lawless ‏@garylawless 2m2 minutes ago

Hearing #bombers are on the verge of signing OL Dominic Picard #cfl #bn first step in reshaping attitude of a soft offensive line.

Import LT - Greaves - Picard - Goossen - Neufeld

Morley as the 6th OL.

gary lawless ‏@garylawless 2m2 minutes ago

Hearing #bombers are on the verge of signing OL Dominic Picard #cfl #bn first step in reshaping attitude of a soft offensive line.

Just saw that too. That's interesting. Does Goosen stay as 6th OL or do they think he can start at guard?

 

I guess another follow up question is, "what the hell do I know about OL play?" I thought Morley was every bit as good as he was...

Kirk Penton @PentonKirk

#Riders did indeed cut OL Dominic Picard, and a #CFL source says #Bombers are close to signing him. Makes sense.

 

gary lawless ‏@garylawless 2m2 minutes ago

Hearing #bombers are on the verge of signing OL Dominic Picard #cfl #bn first step in reshaping attitude of a soft offensive line.

Just saw that too. That's interesting. Does Goosen stay as 6th OL or do they think he can start at guard?

 

I guess another follow up question is, "what the hell do I know about OL play?" I thought Morley was every bit as good as he was...

 

 

Morley makes sense as the #6 OL since he has experience and played C, G and T.

 

I'm guessing, Bob Wylie might have something to do with Picard coming here.

Color me surprised. I still think Morley was better than Picard at center last year, but if they view this as an upgrade then hey, why not

 

 

gary lawless ‏@garylawless 2m2 minutes ago

Hearing #bombers are on the verge of signing OL Dominic Picard #cfl #bn first step in reshaping attitude of a soft offensive line.

Just saw that too. That's interesting. Does Goosen stay as 6th OL or do they think he can start at guard?

 

I guess another follow up question is, "what the hell do I know about OL play?" I thought Morley was every bit as good as he was...

 

 

Morley makes sense as the #6 OL since he has experience and played C, G and T.

 

I'm guessing, Bob Wylie might have something to do with Picard coming here.

 

 

Could be Wylie. Heads up I think Morley and Picard were pretty even in play last year. However, Picard brings a raft of intanglibles with him to add to our line. I like the move. A mentor for Goosen and a bonafide leader for our OL.

Color me surprised. I still think Morley was better than Picard at center last year, but if they view this as an upgrade then hey, why not

 

Morley had a good year. Picard brings intangibles with him though that are off the charts. He has been the glue guy on every OL he has centred and they have all been successful OLs.

 

Color me surprised. I still think Morley was better than Picard at center last year, but if they view this as an upgrade then hey, why not

 

Morley had a good year. Picard brings intangibles with him though that are off the charts. He has been the glue guy on every OL he has centred and they have all been successful OLs.

 

 

Morley may have been better than Picard last year. But Morley can't bring the nastiness that Picard can bring which our soft OL needs.

We should have signed him when he left TO

We should have signed him when he left TO

 

We wanted to but didn't get around to it. Too busy beating a Labatte dead horse.

Color me surprised. I still think Morley was better than Picard at center last year, but if they view this as an upgrade then hey, why not

 

Morley is soft and part of an offensive line that has been a huge problem the last number of years.  The fact he played his best ball at center doesn't mean that he was particularly good .. it's just that that's where we were able to get the most out of him. 

 

Picard, even at this stage of his career, is an upgrade.  He's physical.  Nasty.  He can still drive people off the ball.   One of our biggest weaknesses last year was consistency in the run game.  And a large part of the problem was the soft interior of our line.   Is Picard the same guy he was 5 or 6 years ago?  No.  But, for a lineman, he's still got a few years of highly productive play in him .. he's also nowhere near as bad as many posters are making him out to be.  He's an effective short term upgrade .. a bridge player .. that will allow us to overhaul the attitude and makeup of our offensive line.

The Free Press is reporting the Picard signing as a done deal.

 

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/football/bombers/Bombers-sign-offensive-lineman-Picard-DB-Washington-287657801.html

Color me surprised. I still think Morley was better than Picard at center last year, but if they view this as an upgrade then hey, why not

Colour me unsurprised, after what we witnessed in the trenches this past season. Hmmmm maybe a few more decent OL will shake loose due to cap issues...

I don't *hate* the move, as long as there's not too much in the way of guaranteed money. I'm still not exactly sure what this means for our roster, but if you're not guaranteeing much, and just saying "hey, come to camp, fight for a job, and we'll see what it looks like in mid June..." then that's not so bad...

 

Color me surprised. I still think Morley was better than Picard at center last year, but if they view this as an upgrade then hey, why not

 

Morley is soft and part of an offensive line that has been a huge problem the last number of years.  The fact he played his best ball at center doesn't mean that he was particularly good .. it's just that that's where we were able to get the most out of him. 

 

Picard, even at this stage of his career, is an upgrade.  He's physical.  Nasty.  He can still drive people off the ball.   One of our biggest weaknesses last year was consistency running the ball.  And a large part of the problem was the soft interior of our line.   Is Picard the same guy he was 5 or 6 years ago?  No.  But, for a lineman, he's still got a few years of highly productive play in him .. he's also nowhere near as bad as many posters are making him out to be.  He's an effective short term upgrade .. a bridge player .. that will allow us to overhaul the attitude and makeup of our offensive line.

 

 

One of the people I look to for quality OL analysis so hey, if you like it, I like it.

If nothing else, you snag him away from a division rival.

Darrin Bauming @DarrinBauming

`@garylawless reporting #Bombers will announce the signing of veteran Canadian O-lineman Dominic Picard later today. http://shar.es/1HiO8E

Madani says Wylie is a big fan of Picard....makes sense. 

Yeah of course you put in an offer for Dominic Picard. He would start at centre for us.

You're absolutely right